Electrical contacts

Abstract

An electrical contact comprises a base metal and an electroplated nickel layer thereover wherein said nickel layer is preferentially oriented in a <111> crystallographic plane along the surface of the nickel.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An electrical contact comprising a base metal and a nickel layer thereover said nickel layer having an exposed surface which is preferentially oriented in the 111 crystallographic plane and wherein said nickel includes an additive selected from the group consisting of Sb, In, P and Zn in an amount so as to have caused the preferential orientation in the 111 plane. 
     
     
       2. The contact recited in claim 1, wherein the nickel is electrodeposited. 
     
     
       3. The contact recited in claim 2, wherein the electrodeposition is from a nickel sulfate bath at low current density. 
     
     
       4. The contact recited in claim 1, wherein the base metal is selected from copper and a copper alloy. 
     
     
       5. The contact recited in claim 3, wherein said nickel sulfate solution further contains a salt of at least one member of the group consisting of Sb, In, P and Zn. 
     
     
       6. The contact recited in claim 5, wherein the salt is present in a concentration of from 0.2 to 20 mM.